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Oscar award-winning composer, singer and songwriter A.R. Rahman’s much-awaited national road tour Rahmanishq kicked off in Kolkata recently. Talking to the extremely grounded and unassuming Rahman is only half the story. The remaining half is what his team thinks of him and how they relate to being part of his entourage. "Indian music has its own charm. It is like an ocean from which you can pick precious gems. I think this is one of the reasons why we should be proud of our culture of which music is an integral part and take it further. It is important to use our culture to shape what people listen to. So, if you take the CokeStudio (@MTV Season 3), we have brought some old songs back, and strangely, it seems to be the favourite among people like ‘aao balam’ and ‘soz o salaam’," said Rahman. From Kolkata, Rahman and his team flew off to Vishakhapatnam, Ahmedabad and Jaipur. Having made an extremely low-profile entry into the world of national music with Roja, Bombay and Dil Se, Rahman says, "I have performed almost in every part of the world but Kolkata has the warmth and people are attentive listeners who appreciate all that we come up with," he laughs. Drummer-composer-producer Ranjit Barot, who has been with Rahman since the "Humma Humma" song in Bombay, says, "Rahman has that rare quality where the music he makes reflects the person he is, his sense of peace and oneness which then takes on another direction and finds its way into people’s hearts. I am not only playing with him. I am helping him reinterpret some of the songs without compromising on their inherent popularity." Elucidating on how Rahman has evolved as a composer over the years, Barot says, "His music is becoming more and more sophisticated, and so are his writing skills. By the time, he composed for Roja, he was already recognised as an accomplished composer in the South, besides his ad jingles. At that time, his music was contemporary, traditional, extremely popular and rooted to the classical system of ragas. Today, those years of crafting some of the most popular songs have given him the confidence to push the envelope. The beautiful thing is that his fans and listeners worldwide are also evolving with him." Does Rahman look for members to man his team when he works for Bollywood films with people who have a sense of rhythm? "It is easy to sell something very musical to people who understand music. Otherwise they settle down to mass numbers or something catchy. Sometimes, I do not carry an idea to its full and final denouement. It is on my phone and they hear that and say that they like my stuff. For some people, I really have to produce it with rhythm and chords and everything to convince them," says Rahman, adding, "I do not like the term Bollywood." About the evolution in music, Rahman says, "Earlier, experimenting with older interludes, which were counted sacred, was a grave sin. Now, to quench the thirst of a younger audience, the worshipping of experimentation has taken a new turn." He has added Tagore’s famous poem from Gitanjali — where the mind is without fear and the head is held high — to his repertoire, which went on to become a major hit among the most preferred soundtracks of his recent shows. "I felt this would bring some diverse elements and music. I loved the whole vision behind the poem. To think that he wrote it almost 100 years ago! This means that he foresaw what our nation needed and still needs. For me, it is amazing foresight and inspiration enough and became the reason why I wanted to embrace it. It will also excite listeners who are yet to discover Tagore," he explained. Part of Rahman’s music team, 29-year-old Suchi, who participated in a full-scale concert with Rahman for the first time, said, "He called me up a few months back and asked me to sing a few Tagore numbers. Later, he asked me for the details of Where the Mind is Without Fear. Soon, I learnt that I would be performing with him for his episode of Coke Studio Season 3. I performed "Jago Mere Des Ko" with him and I have discovered that he is a great human being." Hriday Gattani, 22, who performed live for the first time at the Kolkata concert and has been with Rahman since he was 12, says, "He is a living legend, a genius. Since I have been on his tours produced and directed by my father since 1996, I know exactly what to expect and that keeps me relatively calm and confident. I sang "Nazar laaye" from Raanjhanaa as he felt my voice and texture would suit the song."
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